


While You Were Sleeping

by Joolzmp7



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Developing Relationship, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hand Jobs, M/M, Romance, Sexual Experimentation, Sleepy Cuddles, Touching, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-01
Updated: 2014-11-01
Packaged: 2018-02-23 10:48:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2544812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joolzmp7/pseuds/Joolzmp7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John falls asleep on Sherlock after getting back from solving a long case and Sherlock spends time thinking about their growing closeness and enjoying the fun that follows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	While You Were Sleeping

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Пока ты спал](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7188272) by [Little_Unicorn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Unicorn/pseuds/Little_Unicorn)



While You Were Sleeping

By Joolz

 

Sherlock sat on the sofa looking down at the head which had just slid over to rest against his left shoulder as John fell asleep. He couldn't blame him for once as they had both been up for nearly two days on the trail of their latest suspect and whilst the thrill of the chase had kept John awake whilst they were out, he soon crashed when they made it back home. They had finally caught the killer after a long stake out down at the docks followed by a couple more hours of statements and form filling down at the Yard and had only got back home about an hour ago, bringing take-away in with them.

They had both eaten their fill, even Sherlock being happy to eat as the case was closed, and settled on to the sofa to watch some crap telly before they turned in. John had lasted about ten minutes before his eyelids started drooping and Sherlock had halted his usual acerbic commentary on whatever it was they were watching so as not to disturb him. He didn't mind as it gave him time to study John without being observed.

Things had changed between them recently; John had begun acting differently. There was more touching going on; a brush of fingers when passing mugs of tea; a hand on his shoulder when John bent to look at what he was doing on the laptop or through his microscope; sitting closer on the sofa – and now apparently sleeping on each other’s shoulders.

Sherlock had also noticed that John was no longer reacting with his standard comment of ‘Not Gay’ whenever people thought them a couple. He hadn’t been out with one of his boring dates for several months now either and he had actually smiled the last time they had been to Angelo’s when the man had brought over the now familiar candle.

John certainly seemed to be more relaxed around the flat; he hadn’t shouted at Sherlock about leaving his experiments all over the place half as much as usual. In fact, last week when John had discovered a bag full of toes in the crisper drawer he had just shaken his head and smiled fondly. Fondly!

What was Sherlock supposed to do with these new observations? He had to admit that he didn't mind the touching; it had actually been quite nice to have a bit of contact and if there was anyone that he would allow it from it could only be John. He felt a warmth spreading through him now at feeling John leaning against him and it wasn't only from the physical contact, it was almost as if he felt it from inside himself.

He looked over at John again. A strand of hair had fallen down toward his eyebrow. Did he dare reach across and sweep it aside? John didn't seem to have a problem touching him so he would surely be alright with Sherlock reciprocating, wouldn't he? He stretched out his arm and pushed the hair back up in line with the rest. John's forehead was pleasantly warm as Sherlock's finger brushed against it. John's brow wrinkled for a moment; Sherlock froze in place, not even breathing to disturb John's sleep, but John almost immediately relaxed again so Sherlock slowly released his held breath and brought his hand back 

Sherlock didn't think John looked particularly comfortable with his neck cricked at that angle and he knew that if he left him for too long in that position he would also be suffering with his shoulder when he woke up. He would probably rest a lot easier if Sherlock's arm was behind his back and John's head rested against his chest. He didn't stop to analyse the deeper feelings that he would also feel happier himself if John was closer to him. The one thought he concentrated on now was whether he would be able to get in that position without waking John up. 

Sherlock started moving his shoulder backwards in small increments and very slowly John's head tilted to follow it. Sherlock wasn't sure how he was going to actually get his arm behind John though. He was sitting more into the corner of the sofa so his front was slightly angled towards John anyway and he decided that if he could support the weight of John's head on his free hand he might be able to quickly move his other arm behind John and re-settle him on to his chest without him waking.

Sherlock brought his other hand over and put it level with his shoulder and as he slid it back he took up the weight of John's head with his hand. John snuffled and moved his head as if trying to settle it more comfortably so with the movement he was making anyway Sherlock quickly slipped his shoulder free, his left hand going behind John and his right sliding John's head down to rest against his chest where John twitched it a bit as he snuggled into a better position. His head was rubbing against Sherlock's body and sending little tingly feelings through him where it pressed. John sighed, seeming to relax a bit more as he settled down again.

Sherlock smiled to himself; he'd done it. John's neck was at a better angle, Sherlock's chest was warm, his arm was free and what was with that tingling?

Because of the angle at which they were lying, Sherlock's hand come to rest naturally against John's upper back just below his shoulder and without him even consciously thinking about it he was drawing small circles with his thumb against John's back. He paused when he realised what he was doing but John hadn't been disturbed by the movement and Sherlock decided he liked the surprising comfort it was giving him so he started up again.

After a while John sighed again and his hot breath swept across Sherlock's chest and even through his shirt, tight and thin as it was, he felt the heat slide over his nipple, raising the nub up to brush against the silk. Sherlock felt a shiver flow through him at the contact and he reflexively grasped onto John's back. This seemed to nudge John into action and his uppermost arm slid forward and came to rest at the crease of Sherlock's thigh with the thumb against his abdomen and the tips of John’s fingers brushing against another part of his body which Sherlock was startled to acknowledge was starting to take an interest in the proceedings.

What was Sherlock to do with these new discoveries and feelings? He had certainly liked the shiver of excitement that had swept over him when John had sighed on his nipple and the risk that John might feel movement against his finger tips over Sherlock’s groin was actually increasing the likelihood of that event actually happening in a self-fulfilling loop as the thought of a touch made the feeling grow and the feeling growing made other things rise to the occasion.

Sherlock wasn't sure how he felt about that. Did he want this encounter to become more sexual? Was that kind of participation something he was even interested in? His body was trying to tell him yes but his head was the most important thing. He needed to think about the whole situation logically.

John seemed confident in touching him and Sherlock liked being touched and, as proved by his thumb already subconsciously back to stroking John again, it seemed he liked reciprocating too.

If John was no longer declaring his heterosexuality at the drop of a hat did it mean that he now considered himself open to men as well as women? How did Sherlock feel about that? He knew that his own preference, if anything, was for men, not that there had been many of them. During his university years he had experimented briefly with both sexes to see what the fuss was all about and though he wouldn’t say he raved about either group, he did find the men aesthetically more pleasing than the women. The orgasms had been adequate but the whole 'interaction with other people' thing hadn’t made it worth the effort so he had put it all behind him. Was it now worth re-visiting that decision?

He had to admit that he certainly liked how John looked. There was a deceptiveness to John’s attraction that might not declare itself instantly as his own looks were -unfortunately, as far as he was concerned - wont to do but there was just such a boyish, friendly appeal that seemed to enhance everything with John and his charm grew on you the more time you spent with him.

Another thing he was sure of was that John must be quite skilled in giving orgasms as he’d never heard any complaints from John’s dates – when they lasted long enough for it to get that far, of course. The reason for the break-ups was always that John spent too much time with Sherlock not that the dates were unsatisfied with John’s performance; Sherlock would have been able to tell if that were the case just from his own observations.

John was certainly proficient at obtaining his own orgasms too, as Sherlock had overheard on many occasions, seemingly more so recently. When he thought about it, though, he had to ask himself was it that John had been doing it more often or just that Sherlock had been listening out for it with more regularity? Just last week John must have actually had his door ajar because the volume coming from upstairs had been even louder than usual and Sherlock had felt stirrings of his own when John had achieved completion and he had even thought he had heard his own name echoing down the stairs. Surely that must tell him something as he didn't get those kinds of feelings with anyone else. Could it be that he was interested in pursuing this further with John and seeing if it was worth trying sex again?

So with the signs leading him to conclude that John might be amenable to taking things forward, what he had to ask himself was did he feel the same? On initial examination he was finding it hard to come up with reasons why not. Okay so his previous experiences hadn't been stellar but then neither had the people been with whom he'd had them. He found John infinitely fascinating in all things and he never did what was expected of him so surely that would follow through to other areas too.

Just as Sherlock was coming to the decision that there might be the possibility that he could be interested in trying something with John at some stage, all doubt was taken out of his hands as John shifted slightly against him and his fingers edged forward until they were resting completely on top of Sherlock's groin. This was no longer a simple brushing at the edge, this was full contact and Sherlock could definitely tell the difference. The warmth of John's palm was pressed securely over Sherlock's shaft and the instant hardening only served to prove to him that his 'possibly' and 'sometime' should in fact be 'definite' and 'right now'.

Sherlock watched John's hand as it was raised by the rapidly tenting material of the trousers beneath it. Now that was a delightful image and an even better feeling, could he get some more movement out of that without disturbing John? He very carefully lifted his hips up and John moved with him. Oh yes, that worked. He started a slow rhythmic rocking of his hips and John's hand slid up and down as he moved. There wasn't a lot of pressure as the hand was only resting on top, but just the fact of knowing that it was there was enticing enough and Sherlock settled in to enjoy himself.

It was at this point that John decided enough was enough. He had actually woken up when Sherlock had been doing all the manoeuvring to get his arm behind John's back. John hadn't shown any visible signs of waking, though, as he wanted to see what Sherlock would do so he had snuggled back down against Sherlock's chest enjoying the feeling of closeness and warmth he got from lying on Sherlock.

Though Sherlock couldn't know it, he had been quite right in his deductions. John had made a new decision in his life recently. He had decided that he was through with women and dating; there was only one person he wanted and that was Sherlock. He loved everything about him; his mind, his voice, his body and even his crazy experiments. All he had to do now was figure out a way to let Sherlock know how he felt. He had thought that Sherlock would just be able to look at him and deduce it, but it seemed Sherlock didn't find things as easy when sentiment was involved.

It certainly seemed as if Sherlock was responding well to his increased touching and John was enjoying the opportunity to employ it whenever he could. Anything to be able to press against Sherlock’s surprisingly soft skin. John had even managed to brush his thumb along that deliciously long neck last week when he had been resting his hand on Sherlock’s back as he’d been staring down his microscope and was sure there had been a resultant shiver at his touch.

John could feel tremors running through his own body at the moment as he revelled in the circling of Sherlock’s thumb on his back. He’d sensed the pause as Sherlock had obviously realised what he was doing, but when Sherlock had started up again John had cheered in his own head at the small victory. Maybe Sherlock was finally getting the message. He’d also enjoyed the reflexive grasp he’d felt when he’d sighed over Sherlock’s nipple and the resultant increase in heart rate he could feel under his ear had been very encouraging.

Now though, John was a bit stuck because Sherlock was rocking himself under John’s hand and he didn’t know how much longer he could feign sleep. He was absolutely desperate to apply a bit of pressure. He’d thought it was an inspired move to slide his hand across Sherlock’s groin as he purposely settled himself more comfortably, but he’d never have guessed that Sherlock would have reacted so pro-actively. The way he had felt Sherlock’s shaft hardening under his fingers was amazing and that first tentative lift of Sherlock’s hips to brush closer to John’s hand almost made him groan out loud.

Sherlock had settled into a rhythmic thrusting motion and John was having to consciously control his hand to stop it grabbing hold of what it wanted. He didn't know whether he could get away with a reflexive grasp as an unconscious manoeuvre or if Sherlock would know instantly that he was awake. He decided he had to give it a go, he couldn't resist any longer and even if Sherlock did realise he was faking sleep he'd got to the stage where he pretty much didn't care. He just had to feel that shaft properly.

On the next up stroke John snuffled his head into Sherlock's chest as if to get comfortable and he tightened his fingers around the material tented below it. He felt the tip fitting snugly into his palm and Sherlock let out a low moan which rumbled under John's ear. John had moved his head as he settled himself and he'd positioned it right over Sherlock's nipple and when he sighed again he directed the hot breath right over the nub, increasing the noises Sherlock was making.

Sherlock, it seemed, was now too far gone to realise that these movements were too coordinated and was just completely lost in what was happening to him. He pushed up harder into John's hand and John squeezed him again. John pressed his tongue against the nipple in front of him, sucking it and the silk material covering it into his mouth and biting gently as it hardened even more at his touch. Sherlock's one hand was grasping repeatedly at John's back and the other was pressing hard into the arm of the sofa as the sensations settled over him.

John wrapped his fingers fully around Sherlock's cock and stroked it hard and fast as Sherlock continued thrusting up into the motion. John slid his thumb over the head, circling it on each up stroke and then he bit down hard on Sherlock's nipple and that was all it took. Sherlock shouted out John's name as his shaft pulsated under John's hand and he came harder than he thought he ever had before. John stroked him through his release and then just rested his hand where it was and rubbed his cheek against Sherlock's chest, feeling the wet silk against his skin and the rapid beating of Sherlock's heart as he took a few minutes to recover.

"So, how long exactly have you been awake, John?" 

John bashfully hid his head against Sherlock's chest and moved his arm to rest against Sherlock's hip, "Pretty much since the beginning." 

"Ah. Not quite as subtle a move as I thought then."

"It was a good try, I think I just hadn't dropped deeply enough asleep not to feel it. Thanks for the thought though; I assume you were thinking of my comfort to start with. When you reacted so nicely to my movements, though, I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"Was this a joke, John; were you just experimenting on me?"

"You're surely the last person to question experiments, Sherlock. How many times is it now that you've slipped something into my drink or food? But to answer your question, no it wasn't an experiment or a joke. I think you must have deduced by now that I have feelings for you; I just didn't want to push anything until you were ready to take the next step on your own. I just hoped that you might have picked up on my hints and that laying me against your chest might lead to more interesting things. I'm sorry if I've made you feel awkward, Sherlock, that was never my intention."

Sherlock relaxed at John's explanation and at having his deductions confirmed. He did always like to be proven right after all. If John had been awake through it all there could be no doubt that he had been as willing a participant in this as Sherlock had himself so it was clear that this was something they both wanted. He gently pressed a kiss to the top of John's bowed head. John's hand tightened on Sherlock's hip and he shyly looked up, catching a soft smile on Sherlock's face.

"Hi," Sherlock grinned down at him.

John smiled back, "Hi yourself."

"So… Where do we go from here?"

"Well, I certainly wouldn't be averse to moving things somewhere more comfortable. We should probably both get some sleep." 

"Oh." Sherlock sounded disappointed, "You just want to sleep then?"

John grinned up at him and winked. "Who said anything about 'just'. I meant we should get some sleep eventually not that we needed it immediately. I'm sure we can find other ways to amuse ourselves until we feel sleepy again."

"Now that sounds like an experiment we can both get our teeth into." Sherlock smiled as John laughed. "Come on, John, I want to start by measuring my recuperation time. Do you think you could do all that again?"

"Do I!" John jumped up and pulled Sherlock to his feet. "First, though, I want to start as I mean to go on. I've been dreaming about those perfect lips of yours for weeks, why don't you bring them here and show me what they can do."

Sherlock's lips twitched into a shy smile as he bent his head and pressed them gently against John's own. John brought his hands up and buried them into Sherlock's hair, scratching the scalp lightly and tugging against the hair strands as he deepened the kiss. Sherlock had never felt anything quite like it, he hadn't really bothered with kissing whilst in University; he had wanted the experience of sex but had not been interested in intimacy and had never felt close enough to want to try with the others. Now though, he revelled in the feeling of closeness with John, tasting him deeply as his tongue swept into John’s mouth and groaning as John nibbled on his lower lip.

John pulled back and slid one hand down Sherlock's body until it pressed lightly against Sherlock's rapidly hardening shaft. "Well I think we have the answer for experiment number one. Want to get started on the next one?"

Sherlock towed John quickly towards his bedroom. "Data calls, John, data calls."

John laughed as he followed behind Sherlock and the last thing that could be heard was the sound of bed springs bouncing and a not so manly squeal as someone was thrown on to it as the bedroom door closed behind them.

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> This story has now been translated into Russian by the very lovely Helen. Thank you so much for doing that. Helen now has a page on AO3 so here's the link for any Russian readers. http://archiveofourown.org/works/7188272


End file.
